Comic for Wednesday, Jan 17, 2024

[Amiable Dorsai 70]

Luke has an itch he hates to scratch. He knows it can hurt him, but he can't help it.  Interesting.

[Darth Fluffy 302]

2 hours ago, Amiable Dorsai said:

Luke has an itch he hates to scratch. He knows it can hurt him, but he can't help it.  Interesting.

Yeah, this one did not make a lot of sense. He's walking directly into them; someone is going to have to step aside.

His mental 'What if' - does he do this all the time? It seems like magic is scarce enough that he should know by now he probably won't get hits. But we don't really know that, Pandora was busy for a while. If it is actually rare, why did he ever use his gift, and how did he even discover he had it? His group of friends?

Does he go through this level of anxiety every time?

Why is he refraining for two panels, then caving in? He should have developed a habitual reaction by now.

This feels like we have a framework, and it's being twisted into a shape for when it is needed to explain something about Hope being discovered.

He didn't really hang out with Justin very long, unless there was a fast forward between the last comics and this. (Do kids these days understand a VCR term, 'fast forward'? I told my kids once, "You sound like a broken record." They asked, "What's a record?")

[Pharaoh RutinTutin 1,586]

 

Just like Ashley, Luke has power he wants to use and is scared to use.  

Through Justin, he is close to sympathetic and friendly individuals who could help.  But those individuals are themselves connected to government and other forces that are utterly indifferent to Luke.

 

[ijuin 572]

“Fast forward” is still a function seen on digital videos and on Blu-Ray players, so I don’t think it is forgotten yet.

[Darth Fluffy 302]

2 hours ago, ijuin said:

“Fast forward” is still a function seen on digital videos and on Blu-Ray players, so I don’t think it is forgotten yet.

Good point, I think they would know 'fast forward'. Lacks the visceral sound of the tape speeding up, though, probably related to why it did not occur to me.

[Darth Fluffy 302]

3 hours ago, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

Just like Ashley, Luke has power he wants to use and is scared to use.  

Through Justin, he is close to sympathetic and friendly individuals who could help.  But those individuals are themselves connected to government and other forces that are utterly indifferent to Luke.

I'm cool with it until Luke's Midichlorian count is mentioned. Use the Force, Luke!

[Don Edwards 548]

7 hours ago, Darth Fluffy said:

I told my kids once, "You sound like a broken record." They asked, "What's a record?"

Odd thing is, an actual broken record usually doesn't sound like a broken record. But a scratched record often does.

[Darth Fluffy 302]

7 hours ago, Don Edwards said:

Odd thing is, an actual broken record usually doesn't sound like a broken record. But a scratched record often does.

This is true.

[ChronosCat 155]

On 1/17/2024 at 9:40 AM, Darth Fluffy said:

He didn't really hang out with Justin very long, unless there was a fast forward between the last comics and this. (Do kids these days understand a VCR term, 'fast forward'? I told my kids once, "You sound like a broken record." They asked, "What's a record?")

In addition to "fast forward" still being a term, as far as I know so is "rewind" despite nothing being wound on a DVD/Blu-Ray player or streaming video. On a related note, multiple programs I use still have their "save" icon look like a floppy disk; I wonder how many people use such programs but have no idea why the save symbol looks like that.

Incidentally, I'm guessing that incident with your kids not knowing about records was a while ago? Because records have actually been making a comeback in recent years (I've even heard that these days they sell better than CDs, though considering how most people seem to prefer streaming these days, that may not be saying much).

[Darth Fluffy 302]

On 1/26/2024 at 4:40 PM, ChronosCat said:

Incidentally, I'm guessing that incident with your kids not knowing about records was a while ago?

They were children. The oldest in in his early forties, so yeah, about thirty years.

 

On 1/26/2024 at 4:40 PM, ChronosCat said:

Because records have actually been making a comeback in recent years (I've even heard that these days they sell better than CDs, though considering how most people seem to prefer streaming these days, that may not be saying much).

Records are not so great on several counts vs other media. They are not dense storage, so if you have a collection of music, you need a lot of storage space, and they are heavy in quantity. They are subject to wear when you play them (there are expensive laser turntables that avoid this) and the fidelity limited at the high end. On the other hand, environments that would destroy magnetic tape (which I believe has a lifetime; the high speed data tapes did) or trash a CD leave a grungy record that can be cleaned and still used.

Breakage is not a really big concern for vinyl records. It can and did happen, but not a lot. The older materials were less robust. If you find mono 78s, check for damage.

I don't know much about CD's degrading, but if you have any, do not store them in an even slightly damp place.

Re: streaming, my kids love it, and love not having to deal with media. I rankle at paying for each play, would rather own media, but it does all take up space and requires some attention. A also like broadcast radio, now FM only, I no longer listen to AM, just sounds better, and there's plenty of it.

 

[ijuin 572]

On 1/30/2024 at 6:51 PM, Darth Fluffy said:

On the other hand, environments that would destroy magnetic tape (which I believe has a lifetime; the high speed data tapes did) or trash a CD leave a grungy record that can be cleaned and still used.

How naive we were when we thought that CDs were physically robust enough to last for a century.

If you want an analog record disc to really survive for centuries (for historical/archival purposes), then you can cut the disc out of aluminum like the Voyager spacecraft records.

[ChronosCat 155]

On 1/30/2024 at 9:51 PM, Darth Fluffy said:

I don't know much about CD's degrading, but if you have any, do not store them in an even slightly damp place.

Re: streaming, my kids love it, and love not having to deal with media. I rankle at paying for each play, would rather own media, but it does all take up space and requires some attention. A also like broadcast radio, now FM only, I no longer listen to AM, just sounds better, and there's plenty of it.

My understanding is that how long a CD (or DVD, Blu-Ray, etc.) will last depends on the manufacturing techniques used. Some CDs made in the late 80s still play fine, while some more recently produced are no longer usable (though it's not simply a matter of "they don't make 'em like they used to"; new CDs can be high quality too). Unfortunately usually there's no way for the consumer to know what sort of disc it is they're dealing with.

Personally, I like the concept of streaming, but don't do it much (and don't bother with any paid services) because my internet is limited. Even if that weren't an issue, I would still want to have physical copies of any music I like enough to want to listen to again (and any videos I want to watch again, and games I want to play again), or at least have the media in question downloaded to a machine I own (preferably with backups), as I don't trust streaming services (or anything else online) to always have the things in question available - or even to always exist.

I do listen to the radio at times too, if I don't know what I want to listen to (or when I'm in my car, since it's CD player broke and I haven't gotten around to having it replaced). However, while the "random" (for lack of a better term) selection on a radio station can lead to me discovering new music I like, it also can result in my being subjected to songs I don't like (until I change the station or turn it off), and generally speaking I prefer being in more control over what I'm listening to.

[Darth Fluffy 302]

On 2/2/2024 at 2:56 PM, ChronosCat said:

I do listen to the radio at times too, if I don't know what I want to listen to (or when I'm in my car, since it's CD player broke and I haven't gotten around to having it replaced). However, while the "random" (for lack of a better term) selection on a radio station can lead to me discovering new music I like, it also can result in my being subjected to songs I don't like (until I change the station or turn it off), and generally speaking I prefer being in more control over what I'm listening to.

It helps that I live in an urban area with plenty of choices.

[Darth Fluffy 302]

On 2/1/2024 at 8:54 PM, ijuin said:

How naive we were when we thought that CDs were physically robust enough to last for a century.

If you want an analog record disc to really survive for centuries (for historical/archival purposes), then you can cut the disc out of aluminum like the Voyager spacecraft records.

Aluminum is very reactive. It stays shiny because it almost instantly forms a protective oxide coating when exposed to air. This can be subverted, and it is not eternal. Works well in space, where there's nothing to react with.

Aluminum house wiring was popular for a number of years, because it was cheaper than copper. Then there was a higher incidence of house fires, traced back to the aluminum wire degrading, particularly at connections. Mostly no longer used.

[ijuin 572]

Some kind of low-corrosion metal that is harder than gold or lead, but soft enough to cut grooves in, then. If cost is no object, then electroplating it with iridium might be good protection.

[mlooney 3,417]

20 hours ago, ijuin said:

If cost is no object, then electroplating it with iridium might be good protection.

This might explain why the Emperor of the 3rd Empire of Man sits on the iridium throne¹.

 

 

¹Traveller TTRPG reference. 

[Darth Fluffy 302]

On 2/4/2024 at 4:58 AM, ijuin said:

Some kind of low-corrosion metal that is harder than gold or lead, but soft enough to cut grooves in, then. If cost is no object, then electroplating it with iridium might be good protection.

One of the design features needed for data disks is that they be writable in some fashion, be it photo based, or direct etching by laser, or something I'm not thinking of. This has direct bearing on the material choices. The last time I read about it, decades ago, tellurium was the material of choice for the data layer (for CDs, don't know about denser media).

The weird thing, to me, is that being embedded in plastic is not protection enough against humidity. I wonder if a very fine layer of oil or wax could help?

 

[ijuin 572]

It depends on the purpose. Casual storage, such as copying your vacation photos, needs to be easily written using consumer-grade equipment. On the other hand, doom-proofing the history and culture of your civilization so that people thousands of years later will be able to read it, can be done using more difficult and durable methods, e.g. the aforementioned analog records formed out of solid metal.

[Darth Fluffy 302]

8 hours ago, ijuin said:

It depends on the purpose. Casual storage, such as copying your vacation photos, needs to be easily written using consumer-grade equipment. On the other hand, doom-proofing the history and culture of your civilization so that people thousands of years later will be able to read it, can be done using more difficult and durable methods, e.g. the aforementioned analog records formed out of solid metal.

Petroglyphs work well, but the data density is atrocious.